Comparison

SynScan Pro vs PINE Motion

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

SynScan Pro

Control motorized telescope mounts for celestial observation and astrophotography. Features include precise slewing, alignment, GOTO, and tracking of stars, planets, and deep-sky objects. Supports advanced functions like polar alignment and camera triggering.

Highlights
  • Control telescope mount (slew, align, GOTO, track)
  • Point and Track celestial objects
  • Gamepad navigation support
  • Catalog of celestial objects
  • Third-party app integration (ASCOM, SkySafari)
  • Polar alignment (with or without polar scope)
  • Camera shutter release control
Features
Read full description

Use the SynScan app to control Sky-Watcher telescope mounts via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth LE. Mounts without built-in Wi-Fi can be supported via a SynScan Wi-Fi adapter. This is the Pro version of the SynScan app and contains features suited for expert users using equatorial mounts. Features - Control telescope mount to slew, align, GOTO and track. - Point And Track: track celestial objects (including the Sun and planets) without aligning. - Support gamepad navigation. - Browse a catalog of stars, comets, and deep sky objects. Or, save your own objects. - Provide access to mount for use by third-party apps, including ASCOM clients, SkySafari, Luminos, Stellarium Mobile Plus, Stellarium Desktop or customer-developed apps. Also set up mount alignment for Luminos, Skysafari. - Support access to the mount and the SynScan app from any platform that supports TCP/UDP connections. - Provide emulator mount for testing and practicing. - Track fast-moving earth satellites by working with the PreviSat app on Windows PC or the Lumios app on iOS devices. - Perform polar alignment with or without a polar scope. - Control shutter release (SNAP) port to trigger an attached camera. (Requires mount with SNAP port and adapter cable that matches camera.) - Use ASCOM to perform autoguiding on mounts that do not have autoguider (ST-4) port. - Other mount controls: auto home, PPEC, park.

About

PINE Motion

Control a universal motion device for cameras and other equipment. Enables advanced photographic and videographic techniques like time-lapses, panoramas, and 360-degree captures.

Highlights
  • Remote device control
  • Time-Lapse
  • Macro photography
  • Video recording
  • Giga-Pixel Panoramas
  • 360-degree imaging
  • Astro tracking
  • Turntable control
Features
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PINE is a compact and universal device that can be connected to a variety of different camera slider rails, pan & tilt heads, turntables and more, which are driven by stepper motors. It is THE tool for photographers and videographers who want to do motion controlled applications. Supported application modes include: * Time-Lapse * Macro * Video Recording * Giga-Pixel Panoramas * 360-degree Images & 360-degree Time-Lapse * Astro Tracking * Turntable * 3D-Scan

Screenshots

SynScan Pro4 screens
PINE Motion4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: PINE Motion at 5.0 against SynScan Pro's 2.6. PINE Motion also leads on monetization model (free vs paid) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 14.0). SynScan Pro's advantage is ratings volume (51 vs 1). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

PINE Motion holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 2.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: SynScan Pro has 51 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SynScan Pro ships an update every 2 months, PINE Motion every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on July 4, 2026 and July 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
SynScan Pro versus PINE Motion: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSynScan ProPINE Motion
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.6 (51 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews21.5% of reviews—
Number of ratings51 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 5 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS14.012.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size46 MB23 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAstropower Technology Co. Ltd.Black Forest Motion

Customer experience

SynScan Pro

All ratings51 ratings
Positive33.3%
Neutral13.7%
Negative52.9%
Written reviews93 reviews
Positive21.5%
Neutral20.4%
Negative58.1%

PINE Motion

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

SynScan Pro

No in-app purchases

None

PINE Motion

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is SynScan Pro free?
SynScan Pro is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is PINE Motion free?
PINE Motion is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, SynScan Pro or PINE Motion?
PINE Motion is rated higher. SynScan Pro averages 2.6 out of 5 from 51 ratings, while PINE Motion averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do SynScan Pro or PINE Motion have ads?
Neither SynScan Pro nor PINE Motion shows ads.
Which is updated more often, SynScan Pro or PINE Motion?
SynScan Pro ships an update every 2 months, and PINE Motion every 5 weeks. Most recently, SynScan Pro was updated on July 4, 2026 and PINE Motion on July 7, 2026.

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